Quotable Country – 08/12/12 Edition

You’re standing there looking at the man that leaves his clothes on the floor and singing a love song. ●– – Faith Hill on singing duets with husband Tim McGraw.

I really like music that’s rough around the edges. I don’t care if there’s a bad note here or there or if a guy’s out of tune. I actually gravitate toward that more than the pretty, perfect, pristine stuff. ●– – Corb Lund, whose new album Cabin Fever comes out on Tuesday.

There’s always something to learn. I think the real beauty of becoming a better guitar player is the willingness to edit yourself and only play what’s necessary. When you’re young, there’s a sense that you have to play everything you know. As you get older, you hold your cards different and try to make more of an economy of it. ●– – Vince Gill is aging well.

“Joyful Noise” didn’t do too good, so I ain’t had too many calls. [laughs] I enjoyed it, though, it was a big hit with me. I’m sure I will be doing some more things later on. ●– – Dolly Parton, frankly, on future movie roles.

I noticed that as I got older and older, it started really changing, it started getting really bad. The new pop-country stuff, I can’t understand any of it. They sing about stuff they’ve never lived. They’re in a field with guitars unplugged. In a field of daisies rocking out. I think it was just the stupidest thing ever. ●– – Lucky Tubb isn’t a big fan of modern country.

I consider country music one of those pioneering, punk-rock genres, because of the fact that women were considered equal in country music much earlier than they were in R&B or rock ‘n’ roll. And lyrically, country artists took a lot more risks for the time. They talked about divorce. Loretta Lynn wrote about the pill. Johnny Cash did murder ballads. ●– – Brandi Carlile on the appeal of country. Need I mention that her new album is great?

I am writing an album now about the South, because my time spent here has reconnected me to Dyess and my love of the South. This experience has stirred my soul. I hope to release the album by the end of this year. ●– – Rosanne Cash on where she’s heading next. Sounds promising.

He is not afraid to make an ass of himself and neither am I, and I love it, I really do. I think a lot of that guy and it’s fun when you can find somebody that you can talk trash to. ●– – Blake Shelton approves of Jerrod Niemann’s sophomoric sense of humor.

He’s the best. I think I’ve told more than one new artist: ‘You ought to get the Roger Miller (CD) box set, and study it like you’re going to college.’ There are some songs on that box set that are less than a minute long, and he says everything he needs to with them. ‘Chug-a-Lug’ was just two minutes and 22 seonds long! The open-mindedness of his writing, the way he gave two sides to the meaning of every word, was amazing. ●– – Toby Keith professes his love of Roger Miller. I just can’t hate you, Toby.

These days, if you can find somebody who sings and plays the part, you can find songs for them to do. It used to be other way around. You had to have a distinct voice, like Tammy Wynette, George Strait or Randy Travis. Or you had to be a songwriter and had to have something to say that everyone wanted to hear. Now, it’s backwards and about who (the music industry) thinks it can promote. Now, it’s all about appearance. And that doesn’t always work. ●– – Toby Keith on today’s music business.

Q: What’s your opinion on music videos that don’t feature 4-wheelers in tons of mud?
A: You must be a city boy. All music videos have 4-wheelers in the mud. Where else would you ride a 4-wheeler? In concrete? Dumb. ●– – Earl Dibbles Jr., in conversation with Kelly Dearmore.